


Momma's Boy

by Hator



Category: Persona 5
Genre: (sweet boi akechi), (that's his dog's name), (that's his mom's name), (that's his name), Akechi has a dog, Basically an "Akechi's mom lived to raise him right" au, Comedy, Good Akechi, Goro Akemi, Haya Akemi, He's still absolutely hopeless tho, M/M, Rewrite, Spring roll
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-27
Updated: 2019-07-30
Packaged: 2020-07-21 06:10:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 11,485
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19997161
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hator/pseuds/Hator
Summary: Haya Akemi prided herself on being a particularly perceptive mother.She alone had raised her son for 17 years of her life and for all those years he was her sole companion. Men tended not to ask for a second date when she mentioned her illegitimate son who had been born from an irresponsible one night stand. But long gone were the days where she tried to find some kind of surrogate father for her family. It’d been years since she had seriously doubted her ability to mother her son.(Or, an "Akechi's mom lived to raise him right" AU.)





	1. Chapter 1

Haya Akemi prided herself on being a particularly perceptive mother. 

She alone had raised her son for 17 years of her life and for all those years he was her sole companion. Men tended not to ask for a second date when she talked about her illegitimate son born of a one night stand. But long gone were the days where she tried to find some kind of surrogate father for her family. It’d been years since she had seriously doubted her ability to mother her son. Though doubt still managed to creep into her heart every now and then.

Really, her entire pregnancy could only be described as a doubt-filled nightmare. One night had led to 9 months of fear and anxiety. It was a time in her life where she knew she could be raising a fatherless child with no contingency plan beyond that. 

Her father had begged her to give the baby up for adoption and for a while she seriously considered it. 

She didn’t think she could do it alone. She thought _-she knew-_ that she would ruin it somehow.

But then Goro Akemi had come into this world at 7 pounds and 3 ounces and she held him and for the first time in a long time, everything was _okay_. It was like the last 9 months never even happened. She had pushed and cried and screeched for 8 hours and then it was suddenly over and over the chatter of the doctors and the nurses, someone had leaned in close and whispered that the baby was a boy. A baby boy. And before she could even process the fact that she’d given birth to a son _-her son-_ a tiny pinkish baby with wispy honey brown hair had been swaddled in a light blue blanket and placed into her arms. Apparently, in her exhausted delirium, she had told one of the nurses he looked like a soft little _spring roll._

Needless to say, her parents had never let her live that down. They had taken to calling Goro by the nickname every holiday, much to her chagrin. Thankfully, Goro hated it as much as she did so they stopped as soon as he’d grown old enough to protest. However, it hadn’t stopped him from naming his dog Spring Roll just to give her a semi-permanent reminder. 

That kid was too much of a smart ass for his own good sometimes. 

Not to say that _raising_ her smart ass kid had been all sunshine and rainbows and inside jokes. She’d been... _strongly encouraged_ to list his father as unknown, even though she knew that bastard could afford to pay her child support. She knew she’d have to support him all alone but she was ready to sacrifice everything for her baby’s future. When she had first moved to the city as a young 19 year old woman, she’d sworn to herself she’d never move back home. Now, 23 and holding a fatherless baby she had conceded to her fate and quietly moved back to Inaba.

She’d work during the day (leaving Goro with her mother) and attended community college after dark, her precious little son sitting on her lap and listening as intently as she did. Inaba was a sleepy little town, but one of its children suddenly coming back with a child in tow had set the town’s gossip ablaze. There was many a night where she doubted herself and her ability to get through this in one piece. But then she’d get home and she’d hold her little baby and remember how much worse it would be for him without her.

She didn’t have any time to wallow in self-pity. Her son already didn’t have a father and she would be damned if he lost his mother too. 

So she continued studying, even though her back was killing her and the sleepless nights were driving her crazy and her tits were _so damn sore_. 

Then, as soon as it had started, it was over. One day she woke up and she was holding her degree in one hand and the chubby hand of her 4 year old son in the other. 

He’d developed his own features by then. 

He inherited her own soft brown hair but unlike her mop of curls, it fell straight down, like her mother’s. Amber eyes like her father and though he was still too young to tell, she thought he might be inheriting her own delicate frame. 

She was grateful none of his features seemed to belong to his father. 

Goro was a smart little boy. He had already asked her several times where his father was. 

She told him the same thing every time.

“His name is Masayoshi Shido. And he will never hurt either of us ever again.” 

She was older now, wiser, and a hell of a lot more hesitant. When she first moved to Tokyo she simply expected opportunity to land in her lap. Now she’d been burned and had learned how truly impractical those beliefs had been. She applied to hospitals in Tokyo who were willing to take a nurse with such little practical experience until finally, one did. She spent a week in the city to see if Goro liked it (he did, thankfully) all while looking for a good apartment. She found a shabby one-bedroom and while there was barely any space for a grown woman -much less a growing young boy- the neighborhood was good and safe, so she signed the lease and hoped they could move into something nicer once they’d settled into the city.

Moving into her own apartment with a stable job already felt like a breath of fresh air. 

But seeing Goro run around the little apartment like it was a palace was what made everything worth it. 

It’d been many years since then and her chubby little toddler had grown into a fine young man. 

He was in his last year of high school and while she had lovingly pinned his 3rd-year pin on his jacket that first day of school, her heart sank knowing _her_ _baby boy_ was almost a man.

She was proud of him. He was kind and intelligent and probably a way better son than she deserved. She carried pictures of him in her wallet. Her phone's lock screen was a selfie they’d taken at the park. It was a picture with Goro smiling on one side, her on the other and Spring Roll lovingly squeezed in between the two of them, his little snout leaning forward to sniff the camera. She especially loved letting each and every one of her coworkers know that _yes_ ** _her son_ **_was_ ** _the_ ** _Goro Akechi they’d seen on_ **_TV_**. 

But he was human. And he still had one fatal flaw. 

He thought he could keep a secret from her. 

Goro himself was sure his detective skills had been forged from his own hard work. And for the most part? That was true. However, Haya liked to think that at least a bit of his aptitude towards analytics came from her own fondness for murder mysteries and detective shows. She’d always had a knack for predicting the ending of books or movies the two of them had been watching simply by paying attention. 

Goro _always_ got mad at her. He’d whine about spoilers and dramatically toss the book over his shoulder and she’d just laugh and remind him that the journey towards the ending was the more interesting part anyway. 

So when her son came home one night quiet as a lamb she was already suspicious. 

Goro was inherently talkative. When he was younger he’d been painfully shy, depending entirely on her to communicate with the outside world. He would tug on her shirt and she would have to bend down and try her absolute hardest to focus on his quiet little whispers. Then, one day she apparently misheard something and her shy little boy bounded forward to correct her. After that, he’d seemingly realized the benefits of direct communication and her timid boy had become a chatterbox overnight. It was harmless enough so she never bothered correcting him about his tendency to speak up. He liked telling people about the things he read in his books and what kind of mother would she be if she didn’t feed her son’s thirst for knowledge? 

Not only that, it was a habit he had kept too. Over dinner, he had a tendency to prattle on about the material he was covering in class or a case he was currently consulting. 

But about a month ago, on September 15th, her talkative son sat down at the dinner table and failed to utter a single word. 

Well, he asked her to pass the soy sauce... that didn’t really count. 

She pried ever so gently...

She asked him how his day had been, to which he replied that it had been “fine.” Then she asked if his exams were coming up, to which he shook his head and dug deeper into his noodles. 

It was when she asked about the phantom thieves case he was investigating that something flashed in his eyes and she knew exactly what had happened. 

There had been a development in the case. 

She knew there had been but instead of telling her he simply shook his head and took a sip of water. 

She knew he was lying. 

Haya knew many things about her son. He was extremely intelligent. He breezed through his schoolwork with an ease she’d never seen before. But he struggled with human interaction. He had a tendency to say the wrong thing, or to prattle on at inappropriate moments. These two things, combined with his celebrity status assured his place as a social outcast at school. He wasn’t bullied or harassed, his peers simply chose not to associate with him. However, unlike most children his age, their jealousy or indifference didn’t really bother him. He always told her that she and Spring Roll and his work were more than enough to keep him busy. He always had a crooked smile before his agency taught him how to smile “properly” but if you caught him off guard, he’d still smile the same sweet, genuine, crooked smile. He liked listening to foreign music, particularly German bands. He’d been trying to teach Spring roll how to sit for 5 years now and she was amazed at both her son’s dedication and their dog’s stupidity. 

But most importantly, her son didn’t lie. 

She had known a man who lied and promised her the world, only to burn it before her very eyes. The young naive girl she had been burned alongside it. 

So he had raised him to grow up knowing the importance of being honest and it was one of her lessons he’d taken to heart. Goro was honest to a fault. 

Haya knew her son and she knew him well and she knew that he would only lie to protect her. 

So now, having just gotten home from a tiresome 8-hour shift, Haya had been sitting on the couch watching the news and trying to figure out what scared her son so badly he would compromise his own morals.

Then, her phone suddenly rang and Spring Roll started barking from the other room in alarm. 

She didn’t even bother to look at her caller ID, she knew who’d be calling this close to dinner time.

She expected a “moshi moshi” and some kind of half baked excuse for being late. 

What she didn’t expect to hear was her son sobbing on the other line. 

Every hair on her body stood up and her breath quickened automatically. 

“Mom….Mom….”

She heard people in the background...Thieves? Muggers? Had her son been attacked??

“Mom I just awakened to this…thing...”

One of the voices muttered something very quietly and he hiccuped in response to it. She shakily asked 

“Baby, what? What happened?”

The next words came out in a blur of snot and words and tears 

“I awakened to this thing and it’s called a persona and it’s this really weird power and I don’t know what’s happening caN YOU COME PICK ME UP? I’M AT THE SIU BUILDING.”

She wished she had time to process that. She wished she knew why the hell he was at the SIU building instead of on his way home. But he was audibly sobbing and every time she heard him take a shaky breath a knife twisted in her heart. She needed to know what was happening and they could work out the details later. So instead of asking about... any of that, she instead asked 

“Goro is there anyone with you right now?”

He choked on his words a bit before eventually replying

“The Phantom Thieves of Hearts…”

She grabbed her keys and ran towards the car.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WHOA another AU?
> 
> I really like them tbh. Bio says it all, this is an "Akechi's mom lived to raise him right" au and kind of a rewrite of his entire character. This is only the first chapter so let me know if you guys are into it and I'll keep going!
> 
> Also I'm not happy with the title tbh, so it might suddenly change so plz be prepared if that does happen.
> 
> P.S: Yes, Goro's given name is Goro Akemi, but Goro Akechi is his "stage name" given to him by his agents...We'll find out more about that later...
> 
> P.S.S: It is my personal goal to stick spring roll into every single one of my persona AUs. this was just the first one that made the cut. I'm making a "goro akechi owns a dog named spring roll" extended universe.


	2. Chapter 2

She thought back to the first time Goro shared with her his profile on the Phantom Thieves Case. It’d been over dinner and while she had already given up on trying to stop him from discussing his work at the table a long time ago, her stance on electronic devices stayed firm. Between his “internship” and her own erratic shifts at the hospital, Haya’s family didn’t get the opportunity to share a meal as much as it used to. 

But he just looked _so_ _excited_ when he told her how he’d just put the finishing touches on his profile…She’d always been a sucker for the fire that would spark in his eyes whenever he was on the brink of cracking a case wide open. So she’d allowed him to grab his laptop and he explained the details of the case with her over a bowl of fried rice. 

“Assuming the Phantom Thieves aren’t the ones causing the mental shutdowns...Their very first victim was Kamoshida. But the Kamoshida case was being covered up by the administration. So really, the only way someone could have known was if they attended the actual school and witnessed his behavior. So that’s why I think the Phantom Thieves _have_ to be students attending Shujin” 

He paused to dig through his rice (he was probably looking for more onions). While she wasn’t nearly as intelligent as her son, she liked considering herself the Watson to his Sherlock. He would almost always consult her about his cases and she was happy to be the wall he bounced things off of. So she swallowed a bite of food and then asked absentmindedly 

“What about their parents? You don’t think they’d be involved?”

Goro was still digging through his bowl but he automatically replied

“Nope. Most of their parents were in on it.”

Despite the fact, he said it so nonchalantly she could still felt her heart squeeze tightly. 

Haya couldn’t even imagine such a thing…

She dug through her own bowl of rice, looking for a few of the coveted onions. When she found them, she picked them up and unceremoniously dropped them into his bowl. She swiped a piece of his chicken as payment. He finally looked up from the bowl and smiled

“Thanks!”

She rolled her eyes and tsked 

“You know, they’d last longer if you didn’t eat them all at the start.” 

He playfully rolled his eyes back while she pointed at his laptop with her chopsticks.

“Alright, so. They’re Shujin students. What else?” 

He scrolled down the laptop, through his notes and she thought she could see yearbook pictures...a boy with dark blue hair and a bandage on his cheek...a girl with blond pigtails...

Suspects, she assumed. 

“See, that’s...That’s where it all falls apart. Because a profile like this...Teenagers who have been wronged by society somehow is the gist of it...And the calling card seems essential to their MO somehow...but I…”

He trailed off, looking into his bowl of rice once more with his brow furrowed in unspoken frustration.

This had been happening more frequently than she liked to admit.

When he first told her about his internship at the station, she’d been overjoyed. The smile on her 14 year old son’s face had been infectious as he told her about all the amazing opportunities this internship could give him. A bastard child with every door closed to him had now forced each and every one wide open. He’d attended one of Tokyo’s best middle schools -on scholarship- but now this partnership with the station would allow him to enroll at any high school he chose, free of charge. Her son’s future was secure and safe and she felt like she could finally relax, knowing that he’d be alright. 

The next day she’d been called to meet with the chief of the station. She expected some kind of formal introduction and an explanation as to what exactly Goro would be doing with them. 

Instead, she found herself face to face with a Change of Name form, requesting permission to change her son’s name from “Goro Akemi” to “Goro Akechi”

Thankfully, Goro himself hadn’t attended this particular meeting as she’d been advised to leave him at home.

The station’s reasoning was that now “the adults needed to talk.” 

He told her how her son’s “controversial” upbringing could seriously damage his reputation and that if she could please allow them to legally change his name -before enrolling him into Tokyo’s top prep school- to avoid any major association with her. The station wanted to use his youth to their advantage. They were working with an idol agency to make her son a star, a sort of mascot for the force. Of course, this would be impossible if fans googled his name only to find the birth records of a bastard child. 

Thousands of questions sat on the tip of her tongue but she couldn’t voice a single one because of the fact that her blood was **_boiling_**. She wanted to tell him exactly where he could shove his stupid form. He didn’t know her son and he especially didn’t know her if he thought he could speak so candidly. But she remembered Goro’s smile upon opening his acceptance letter so instead of doing any of that, she nodded, signed her name and told Goro the station was only doing it to make him more marketable. 

“It’s funny. I named you after Kogoro Akechi and now you _are_ Goro Akechi”

It was something she told him when she’d broken the news to him. He’d been very confused and a bit upset that they no longer shared the same family name but she assured him that it didn’t matter anyway. He’d always be Goro Akemi within the four walls of this apartment and nothing could ever change that.

He’d struggled with his new name at first, she remembered watching him stumble over it as he introduced himself to his new teachers that summer and she had to keep herself from stepping in and doing his introductions for him. But thankfully, he’d gotten used to it by the start of his freshman year. However, that didn’t stop other problems from arising. 

The most concerning problem was what was in front of her. A silent Goro Akemi was a serious cause for alarm. He only ever shut down when he was distressed and she knew something was keeping him from being honest with her. It hadn’t been a big problem at first but it worried her more and more as he continued working at the station. 

She knew the cases he worked because he discussed all of them with her. And she knew he would then get on TV and credit one of the department’s senior detectives with solving the case. The first time it happened she was confused but saw how uncomfortable asking him about it had made him, so he let it be. Now it was just commonplace. Every single one of her son’s cases had been apparently solved by his seniors instead. 

As for why that was the case? Why her son would let them do this? That was what she wanted to figure out. 

He continued to spin his rice around in the bowl and she scrolled through his laptop, eyes falling yet again on the pictures of the suspects. They were all teenagers, some of them even younger than Goro himself. How desperate would they have been...With nobody...Not even their own parents...

A thought occurred. 

“You don’t think the mental shutdowns and the change of hearts were done by the same group, do you?” 

He refused to meet her eyes and at first, she thought he might ignore her question entirely but eventually, he gave a stiff nod and her suspicions were confirmed. He had long since abandoned his dinner and he looked down at the table while he quietly muttered

“The changes of heart all have an identical MO. They’re performed on criminals who the police have failed to apprehend...The victims received a calling card...and then twenty four hours later their heart is changed and they confess. It’s a neat and precise operation. There’s a true sense of justice in their actions too, no matter how misguided they may be...Before Okumura, each and every one of their victims has stayed alive and in police custody. No physical damage. Comparatively, the mental shutdowns seem completely random. The victims, the MO, whether or not they even survive the ordeal ... Okumura’s death even resembled a mental shutdown more than it did a change of heart...With all the uh...Black blood and all...but...”

He trailed off and she could practically _feel_ the unhappiness radiating off of him. She knew she should ask him what was going on. That it was her responsibility to ask him. But she trusted her son more than anyone, and she knew that whatever was going on, he had a good reason for not telling her. 

So instead of asking him one of the dozens of questions scrambling around her mind, she closed his laptop and grabbed their bowls.

“If you’re done, let’s go walk Spring Roll. The little guy’s gonna pee all over the carpet.” 

She saw him sigh in relief and she wasn’t happy about it but it was fine. She knew he’d tell her eventually and when he was ready.

She hadn’t quite expected it to get to this point though. 

It had taken her only 15 minutes to drive into a parking spot just before the SIU building she’d all but run towards the building. But now that she was out of the car she stood still for just a second, observing the scene before her. 

Her precious son was sitting on the curb outside the SIU building. He was hunched over, looking seriously ill _-was he hurt? what was going on?-_ and he was surrounded by three young women. 

One of the girls was in a soft pink turtleneck, holding his hand and moving her thumb back and forth. She looked distressed, her light brown eyes betraying her worry despite her comforting exterior. Another girl was sitting next to him and seemed to be talking nonstop. Her long orange hair bounced around as she motioned wildly in the middle of their one-sided conversation. What she was talking about Haya had _no_ idea, but she knew Goro liked listening to people talk about the things they enjoyed so hopefully the girl had some passion for what she was saying. He wouldn’t be able to stand it otherwise. The last girl looked vaguely familiar and if it wasn’t for the different uniform Haya would have thought she was a schoolmate of his. She had a dark brown bob and sharp red eyes. This last girl was standing behind him hovering, looking almost like she was a mother figure herself. 

Then, a bit farther away from them also sitting on the curb there was a lanky young man with dark blue hair. He looked like he was...drawing something?

Then her son looked up and noticed her and she was suddenly ripped her out of her thoughts and running down the street. 

Haya was 5’2. Goro had long since outgrown her in height. 

But god damn, she could still run when she needed to. 

In record time she was in front of her son, kneeling down in the street and holding his face, tilting it back and forth to check for any injuries.

She had nearly forgotten about the girls surrounding him. 

“Mrs. Akechi, I’m very sorry-”

Common mistake. At first, it bothered her. A lot. But over the years she’d learned to take it in stride. Besides, she wasn’t going to take out her anxiety over Goro’s condition out on a teenager so instead Haya settled on politely interrupting her

“-Ms. Akemi-”

She looked away from Goro for a single second to identify which of the girls had been trying to speak to her. It was the dark haired one, her sharp red eyes now looking down in confusion. It seemed she wanted an answer. She’d be more than happy to provide one. 

“Our family name is Akemi. His agency changed it.”

Of course, there’d been a lot more to the story behind that name change, but she had no idea who these young women were and she wasn’t about spill her entire life onto their laps. 

However, despite her suspicions, she was extremely grateful to them for taking care of him before she could get there. But now she’d arrived and she instantly went back to analyzing him. His pupils weren’t dilated so he probably didn’t have a concussion and the only thing that looked off about him was the bit of red still left in his eyes. It seemed like he stopped crying and was simply tired. It made her think of when he was a toddler and she’d have to take him home to nap, no matter how busy she might have been. Back then she’d just scoop him up and take him home. Something told her that no matter how much she wanted to, it wasn’t a possibility she could consider anymore. 

But that didn’t stop her from leaning forward and embracing him softly. She felt his head drop onto her shoulder and she squeezed her eyes tight and pretended like everything was fine and she hadn’t just run out of her house in her uniform to comfort her crying 17 year old son. 

A soft tap on her right shoulder pulled her out of this illusion and she turned to face the girl in the pink turtleneck. The girl spoke quietly but firmly 

“We’re very sorry Ms. Akemi... He’s not sick or hurt so you don’t have to worry about that... But he has gone through…”

The girl took a deep breath and Haya recognized the look of someone who was choosing their words very carefully.

”...A very difficult ordeal and it’d probably be best for you to take him home as soon as possible...” 

She could practically feel Goro drifting towards sleep in her embrace. She knew he was absolutely exhausted and should probably go to sleep the second they got home. 

But she needed some answers first.

“Goro told me he was with the Phantom Thieves of Hearts over the phone…Was that true?”

The girls all froze and she realized the boy nearby had stopped drawing when the noise of his pencil scraping against the paper suddenly stopped. 

Pink turtleneck looked upwards, at the girl with dark hair who she now realized was wearing a Shujin uniform. The girl blew her bangs out of her face and nervously started 

“Well...Yes. We are.”

She saw the girl in the turtleneck cringe just a little. Haya couldn’t blame her.

“There are more of us, but we sent them to go buy some...stuff... But uh, my name is Makoto Nijima, it’s a pleasure to meet you.”

Then it clicked in her brain and she knew exactly where she had seen this girl before. 

“Nijima...Any relation to Sae Nijima?”

She felt Goro (who was somehow still lucid, god bless him) nod into her shoulder, but Haya’s eyes stayed up, waiting until Makoto herself gave a curt nod alongside her response. 

“Yes, Sae is my older sister. I’ve seen you with Goro once or twice around the station and I’m so sorry it got to this point. He wasn’t supposed to get involved but-”

She raised a hand and quickly cut the girl off.

“He got himself involved anyway. Don’t worry Makoto, I’m very aware of my son’s behavior.” 

Goro groaned into her shoulder to protest and she heard a giggle from the orange haired girl on his left. Haya turned over to greet her but the young girl jumped and looked away.

She looked just past the girl and towards the quiet young man sitting on the curb.

“You’re Yusuke Kitagawa...I’ve seen you in...”

And then it all clicked once more. She hadn’t _just_ seen Makoto before. She’d seen all these kids in Goro’s case files. 

It was silly, but her heart still swelled with pride. Her kid was a _damn_ good detective. 

She shifted a bit and kissed the top of his head. She knew it made him look extremely childish. She didn’t care. Meanwhile, though Haya’s attention was entirely on her son, Makoto shifted a bit and spoke once more

“The girl with the headphones on is Futaba Sakura. She’d introduce herself but she’s...not great with people”

The youngest girl squeaked nervously when her name was mentioned and though she was still facing away, Futaba managed to wave in her general direction. Haya couldn’t help but smile as she remembered Goro’s younger days. Makoto gave a pointed look at the girl with the pink turtleneck and she nervously introduced herself

“I’m Haru Okumura. I’m...He was rather persistent in tracking us down but still...We should have been more careful.”

Haya absentmindedly noticed how Haru hadn’t let go of Goro’s hand for a second and was still rubbing her thumb across the back of his hand. Haya gave her a soft smile

“What’s done is done. I’m sure you only let him tell me because he said I wouldn’t rat you out. If he's not going to do it, I won't either.”

Makoto nodded stiffly in response and Haru spoke again in that soft gentle voice of hers

“Well, actually, he told us that you’d figure out something was wrong anyway and that it was better to tell you now rather than later. He was really upset so we thought to talk to you might make him feel better.” 

She looked into the young girl’s eyes and while she saw sympathy and kindness, she could also see pain clear as day. She made sure to give Haru her warmest smile along with her reply 

“You seem like good kids anyway. I’m just thankful he’s okay.”

She felt Goro snore softly into her shoulder.

“Well...Mostly okay.” 

Makoto nodded in agreement 

“Yeah. Awakenings can be rather draining...Futaba slept for a week and a half after she awakened to her persona.”

“About that...What exactly **is** a persona?”

Makoto shifted nervously and then suddenly -as if on cue, Haya heard the sudden slapping of shoes on the pavement alongside the yelling of what seemed like a rather brash young man.

“HEY! HE’S NOT DEAD YET RIGHT?”

She leaned forward just enough to watch a young man with bleached blonde hair and a girl with blond pigtails running towards them. 

Unlike the others, she recognized them instantly. Ryuji Sakamoto and Ann Takamaki. Some of Goro’s first suspects. 

Makoto scowled and turned towards them, raising her voice slightly

“No! He is not going to die Ryuji! His mom’s here and you’re going to scare her!”

Ryuji looked towards them and practically balked when he saw her holding Goro. He stepped forward apologetically

“I’m very sorry Mrs. Akechi. We promise he’s not going to die! We’ve all survived the same thing! I promise!” 

She wished she could finally get an answer as to what _exactly_ her son survived but she was beginning to get the feeling it was something she had to ask Goro himself. 

Ann stepped forward holding a rather large convenience store bag and seemed to speak to the entire group

“Alright, so we didn’t know what kind of candy he likes so we got one of each and we figured he _has_ to like more than one kind-”

She felt bad interrupting these kids so much but it seemed they just didn’t know her son very well.

“He likes Milky Ways and Twix. Also, my family name is Akemi and I’m not married. It’s a long story.”

Ann and Ryuji blinked rather owlishly at her, almost as if they hadn’t been expecting her to talk at all. 

“Oh, and I prefer Snickers myself,” she added on as an afterthought. 

Ann nodded and began to dig through the large bag as Ryuji turned around to hand a bank card to the young man leaning against the wall. 

Wait, had he been there the entire time?

He had a mop of dark curls similar to her own, but they were black and cut short. His glasses covered most of his face and he seemed intent on curling a piece of his bangs with his fingers.

Haru noticed her confusion so she gestured to the boy and spoke

“That’s Akira Kurusu. He’s pretty quiet so you probably didn’t notice him...He’s been very worried about Goro.”

Ryuji said something to Akira very briefly but then the mysterious boy went back to his prior position of leaning against the wall and twirling that same piece of hair. 

She remembered Goro telling her something...About a cute barista with black hair and large glasses….

Oh. 

_Oh._

She held onto her son’s shoulder a bit tighter than necessary. They could talk about _that_ later.

Ann walked towards them, requested candy bars in hand and it seemed like she made an effort to speak as gently as possible

“We’re really sorry about all of this ma’am…”

And then it seemed like she suddenly remembered something and Ann started digging around in the bag once more

“Oh! If he’s still bleeding we bought uh...neosporin...and some bandaids!”

Haya felt her heart drop and she whispered rather intensely

“He was _bleeding_ _?_ ”

Makoto stepped forward to snatch the bag away from Ann and Haya could have sworn she heard something meowing? Haru put a hand on her shoulder in alarm and did her best to calm Haya down

“No! No, no it was just um...Something else! He’s not bleeding _here_ it’s okay!”

She gently nudged her son awake, and he slowly stirred in response

“Goro? Are you bleeding?”

He gave a tired sigh and adjusted himself

“No mom…I’m fine…..”

He tried leaning into her yet again but she stepped back and held him away. Despite every organ in her body wanting to hold him close she forced herself to keep him away. She knew if he fell asleep again, he wouldn’t wake up for a while and she wanted answers _now._

“No. You have to stand up for a bit, we’re going home”

She turned to the gaggle of concerned teens and blankly asked them

“Which one of you can help me carry him to the car?”

She thought it’d be that Ryuji boy who would do it, but instead Kurusu stepped forward, bent down and picked Goro up bridal style. 

Okay, now she _really_ wanted some answers in regards to....that. 

Haya handed Goro one of the Milky Ways and all he could do was do his best to hold onto it as Akira carried him down the street and towards their car. The rest of the teens followed them at a bit of a distance as if they were still scared of intruding. She could finally see Akira’s eyes. He’d been too far away earlier and it’d been rather difficult to tell through the glare of his glasses anyway. But now she could see his cool grey eyes looking down at Goro with concern. Then the elusive boy finally spoke. Haya was surprised by the softness of his voice as he asked

“Hey, do you want me to unwrap that for you?” 

Goro’s head nodded slightly in response and Akira smiled as he replied

“Okay, I’ll do it before you leave.” 

And the dark haired barista did exactly that. He helped her buckle Goro in and then unwrapped both Milky Ways for him. 

As she drove away she could see the beginnings of an argument break out amongst the group of teens in her rear-view mirror. Nighttime was about to fall and she sped past the city lights with haste.

Haya wanted answers. And she wanted them now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! Here's chapter two y'all!
> 
> Not a lot happened but it was still a fun introduction to more of this universe, as well as an introduction to the PTs themselves, hehe. 
> 
> I'm already working on chapter three so let me know if you guys want to see it! Thanks for the reviews left on the last chapter, reviews are really encouraging on multi-chapter projects like this ;,)


	3. Chapter 3

If she ever saw the Phantom Thieves again, she really had to thank them for buying Goro all that candy. 

Haya took a bite of her own snickers bar and she watched her son slowly trudge up the stairs of their apartment building. The Milky Way’s sugar content seemed to have given him the extra bit of energy he needed to get himself out of the car and into the safety of their home. 

And thank God, because there was no way she could have successfully carried him up two flights of stairs all by herself. A mother’s love could do many things but it certainly couldn’t work miracles. Once she was sure he could get up the stairs without falling down, she walked at a brisk pace until she reached the door of their apartment. Spring Roll began to bark as soon as she put her keys into the lock and when she opened the door, the little dog ran down the hall to welcome his master home. Usually, Haya tried to stop him from running up and down the hall, but Spring Roll had been glued to Goro’s ankles ever since they first found him so she knew he wouldn’t run away if Goro was nearby. 

It was a bit cliche, picking up the runt of the litter in a box of free dogs but Goro somehow managed to do exactly that. She'd been held up at work so she’d told him to walk himself home from school that day. When she finally did get home, it was to her 11 year old standing in front of the saddest puppy she'd ever seen in her entire life. The dog was absolutely _tiny_ with shaggy golden hair and shiny black eyes which were staring at the door from which she had just entered. Goro stepped forward to try and explain but she was just completely distracted by just how _depressed_ the dog looked. She knew he wanted to keep it and sure, they weren’t in the best financial situation, but her hours were about to be changed. Now she had a consistent daily shift rather than the erratic shifts she’d usually been assigned. So she figured if they were going to get a dog, might as well get it now that their income had nearly doubled. She broke the good news to Goro and he responded very plainly 

_“Good. Because I already named him.”_

A part of her still couldn’t believe her 11 year old son named his dog Spring Roll just to humiliate her. The rest of her believed that yes, he absolutely would. 

Over the years, Spring Roll hadn’t lost that sad look in his eyes. Haya knew from personal experience that being abandoned would never hurt any less, no matter how much time passed. It was why she couldn’t say no to the little dog and especially why she couldn't have said no to the son who’d begged her to keep it. 

She watched her weary teen carefully bend down to pick up his dog. Spring Roll seemed concerned about him, reaching up to try and lick his owner’s face. Goro usually hated Spring Roll's kisses (they were a reminder of his dog’s refusal to be trained) but today Spring Roll licked everywhere he could, Goro being too exhausted to try and correct the dog’s behavior. 

She held the door open and took the dog from his arms as he dragged himself into the apartment and took his shoes off. Haya knew he’d try to sneak off and go to his room. As much as she knew he needed to go to sleep as soon as possible, she couldn’t let him.

“Goro, I’m making tea. Wait for me at the table.” 

If he sank any further, she feared he’d hit the floor. But both of them knew she deserved an explanation so she turned her back to the kitchen door and focused on filling the tea kettle through the tap. Haya heard him shuffling behind her, along with Spring Roll’s nails clacking against the kitchen tile. 

“Mom…” Goro began wearily.

Haya raised her hand in response, still preparing herself for when she would inevitably around.

“Nope. I’m making tea right now.” 

The kitchen reverberated with silence as she made their tea and slowly poured it out into their personal mugs. Haya finally turned around and handed Goro one of his Star Wars mugs, full of green tea. She took a sip from her own mug. It was an offwhite and emblazoned with the slogan _“I’m a good mom. It says so on this mug.”_

She saw it while she was grocery shopping and thought it was hilarious so _of course,_ she’d bought it for herself. How could she resist?

She took another sip and gave her son a pointed look.

Haya had never seen Goro this exhausted his entire life. She’d been by his side through his lowest moments. Held him through his worst failures. Protected him from his deepest anxieties. She didn’t see any of that now though...

Goro always vyed for more and more...More knowledge, more stability...He’d just recently told her how he always felt like what he was looking for was just beyond his fingertips...Of course, he'd refused to elaborate in typical Goro fashion but she'd figured he was talking about the Phantom Thieves case...But now... He looked like he was going to pass out at the dinner table, yes, but for the first time in a long time, he looked completely satisfied. 

“Alright. Start at the beginning. I want to hear everything,” she said delicately, using the same voice she used to talk to her patients.

He slouched back into the chair, and Spring Roll took the opportunity to jump into his lap. Goro scratched behind the dog’s ears absentmindedly and wondered where exactly this all started. 

Thinking about it logically, this all started on September 15th, the first day he’d been dragged into that space station and introduced to the Metaverse. 

But really, if he was being honest, it started a long time ago, when he was 14 and about to start his first year of high school. 

His very first case. There had been so many just like it that he struggled to remember the personal details, no matter how hard he tried. It'd been a suspected kidnapping, potential murder. A single mother whose young son had been taken. 

Though he couldn’t think of the boy’s name he could recall the picture they’d used in his case file clear as day. He had dark brown hair which stuck out every which way and light blue eyes. He looked like any other little boy, holding an ice cream cone and smiling at the camera. 

Goro remembered how he’d sat in an empty room at the station and desperately tried to ignore the thoughts breezing through his brain. His mind seemed fixated on reminding him how 48 hours had already passed. His grip on the file would tighten as he kept trying not to think about how the first 48 hours were the most important. A voice in his head kept reminding him how it was just a number, a statistic, and that he shouldn’t let the results of past cases affect his ability to handle the case in front of him. 

Another voice, a much softer one, asked him why exactly the case had been getting so much attention. Every channel had been reporting it and with such frequency that Goro suspected the news knew about the situation before he did. Back then, he just figured a family member of the child was connected to the media in some way and left it at that. 

He read over the file and one particular individual stuck out to him. The mother said that one of his teachers made it a point to personally visit the family and wish for the safe return of their son. 

_48 hours._

While the faculty had been informed of the incident, the boy’s mother still thought it was odd the woman made an effort to visit them. What would have seemed like an act of kindness at any other time was now enough to garner his suspicion. 

_It’s been 48 hours._

He contacted the school and asked for her contact information. At first, they heard his young voice and thought it was a prank call. Then, when he assured them that yes, he was one of the investigators on the case of their missing student they let him know he needed to present them with a warrant. 

_It’s been 48 hours Goro, that boy could be dead in a ditch somewhere-_

He’d been stumped. He thought about contacting a senior detective for advice. Then he remembered how when the station’s chief handed him the case file he’d gone on and on about how Goro would be a perfect fit for the station. 

Goro thought about what could happen if he didn’t meet their expectations. 

_Can you tell that woman her son is dead?_

He thought about all the other students from his middle school who’d applied for this position. 

_They whispered behind your back about how you didn’t deserve it._

He thought about his mother, who smiled in relief when he told her about his acceptance. 

_Can you go home and tell her you’ve lost everything?_

He took a sip of his coffee and grimaced. He wasn't really a fan.

Then he filed his personal feelings away and got back to- 

-Work was something he used to be excited about but now it was simply monotonous. He wasn’t a detective for the credit or the glory of it, but every time he got on TV and lied about the cases he had solved, something in him broke. It was only getting worse too. Every time he lied to someone, every day he wore that bullshit smile... He felt like he was straying further and further away from his truth. His- 

“-Justice. Such a vague term, wouldn’t you agree, Akechi? You’re always saying that on TV. Do you even know what it means? Or is it just one of those... buzzwords your agency’s taught you?” 

The chief looked at him with a cigarette in his hand and a grin on his face. He’d seen this same smile a million times. It was the smile of someone who thought he was just a child. The disgusting, rotted smile of an adult who thought they knew better. The force was full of them. It’d been a year of being disregarded and disrespected all while he was secretly solving the department’s most high profile cases. Detective Nakanohara had gotten a promotion off of his hard work and yet the older man still refused to look Goro in the eye. 

His Justice.

His Justice was the only thing that kept him going during these long nights at the station. The days when the only thing on his mind was how he couldn’t wait to get home to his mother and his dog and his books. 

He smiled politely, swallowed the bile in his throat and gave a-

-Response,” the TV host remarked. He seemed shocked. But Goro was thrilled. The lights of the studio were blinding, and he knew his agency would be upset with him for squinting like that on camera, but he just had to see the student who identified the Phantom Thieves as his _justice_. 

He looked for the assistant holding the microphone -she was standing by the third row- and then looked at the boy she was holding it out to. 

He was sitting on the end of the aisle, with curly black hair framing his high cheekbones. While the glare of his glasses kept Goro from meeting his eyes, it didn’t matter because the challenge was presented in his smile. Sideways and lazy, as if he dared the Detective Prince to rebuke him. He couldn’t stop the smile spreading across his own face.

Then he remembered he was in a crowded TV station, with hosts who were looking at him expectantly and awaiting some kind of answer to what this random boy had just said. 

“It’s rather intriguing to hear such a strong acknowledgment. But let me ask you-”

-This. Was not what he’d been expecting. He’d expected to walk up to the young man, introduce himself and thank him for the stimulating conversation. Instead, he’d walked away with the boy’s name and his phone number. 

Akira.

Akira-

“-Kurusu. What do you say to that?” 

Goro had never liked coffee much. His mother refused to serve it to him in fear he’d become addicted. Unfortunately, he’d started drinking it anyway, as it was the only thing that kept him up during long nights at the station.

It was also the only thing that gave him an excuse to visit Leblanc and talk to its new resident and part-timer. 

He told himself he was only visiting because Kurusu seemed a bit too passionate when it came to matters involving the phantom thieves. Not to mention, he was a Shujin student so even if Kurusu himself was just a fan, maybe Goro could still use him as some kind of source. 

Kurusu gently placed a teacup in front of him, the coffee inside of it was a soft caramel color. 

“Here’s your order, Akechi,” Kurusu said in that same soft voice that managed to soothe him and put him on edge at the very same time. 

He told himself he was only here for his case. 

He was a-

Liar. The Chief was _a god damned_ liar. 

They’d told him the phantom thieves case was his. They promised him that this would be the first of his high profile cases that he’d finally get to keep. It would assure him of a future at the station. 

Goro had almost accidentally walked in on a meeting between the chief and one of the other detectives. Instead of walking in, he’d stayed behind the door and listened. 

Now he knew Detective Enomoto would be credited as lead investigator on the case if it succeeded. Goro himself would be credited only as an assistant. He clenched his fists and went back to his office, as he desperately tried to keep himself from shedding a single tear. 

His future was on the line. _Everything_ **was** _on the line_. 

He should be thankful. He should be grateful Even just being credited as an assistant was a huge deal for a case as large as this one. He wasn’t going to cry he wasn’t a-

“-baby without a husband. Maybe it was better this way,” a random officer had said nonchalantly. 

A case about a woman who had been murdered in her own home. She was 8 months pregnant and unmarried. 

There was so much _blood_. 

He looked down at the woman’s body and tried to ignore the stench of death and decay filling every ounce of his body. 

It was-

-Disgusting. He was disgusting. 

He wanted to cover his mirror up with something, just so that he wouldn’t have to look at himself somedays. But he knew his mother would ask questions and he couldn’t tell her about any of this. 

He couldn’t tell her that her beloved son was a fraud. A sellout. 

He couldn’t tell her how every case he worked was breaking **something** in him and didn’t even know what it was anymore. 

She had worked so hard to raise him well.

He didn’t want to tell her she had-

-failed. That’s very disappointing Akechi,” his agent looked over his latest script and scoffed. He’d completely forgotten it. The hosts had asked him questions and the answers just weren’t there anymore. He'd stayed up late to practice them too. Usually, Goro would feel awful but today he felt nothing as he glared at the mahogany desk in front of him. 

Akechi.

_Akechi._

He _fucking_ **_hated_ ** that-

“Name, Kunikazu Okumura..” he saw Makoto move farther away and her words became too soft for him to hear.

He felt bad, following them around like this. However, the station got annoyed with him every time he tried to issue a warrant to question someone so he found this was really the only way he could effectively gather information. 

He watched them as they huddled around a smartphone and then suddenly the world was warping and-

-Shaking. _The world itself was **shaking** _ **.** He watched as the space station collapsed before him. He didn’t know what was happening and he was barely aware of his surroundings. He had just followed the thieves in on a whim, hoping to find some kind of evidence on how exactly their methods worked. 

He should have just deleted that app as soon as he got home. The floor beneath him began to come apart, the creaking of rust and metal hurting his ears. He should have dropped the Phantom Thief case. He watched a piece of the metallic roof crash onto the floor. He should have never applied to work at the station, he should have never even been-

“I’m very sorry Mr. Okumura.” 

He was finally brought himself to look up and found a figure in a black mask standing over the alien Okumura. They continued to speak and even through the rumble and the destruction of the station around them, Goro couldn’t help but note how high pitched and girlish the voice seemed 

“But you’ve become a liability.” 

A single gunshot rang throughout the station and it wasn’t until after Okumura hit the floor that he realized he’d never actually seen someone die in front of him. Sure, he’d seen plenty of dead bodies but to watch someone die right in front of him...

He must have made some kind of noise, or given himself away because whoever they were, their gaze snapped up sharply and now the person who had murdered Okumura was looking at him. 

He grabbed his phone and pressed on the app. 

He needed to-

“-Go? With us? To the metaverse?” Ryuji was shocked and Goro couldn’t blame him. 

He took a deep breath, smiled his best celebrity smile and replied

“Yes. Otherwise, I’ll be forced to use these pictures in my investigation.” 

Kurusu’s eyes were hidden behind his glaring glasses but just one look at his frown was enough to break Goro’s heart. But he couldn’t worry about any of that right now. He would find the real culprit no matter what, even if it meant he’d-

-lost Kurusu. 

In fact, he’d lost all of them. 

Like an absolute idiot. 

One second he’d been right behind the Phantom Thieves but he’d stopped to write a note about his surroundings and the next second he had lost them. 

So he decided he’d contact the thieves later to apologize for getting lost and he figured he could just blend in with the regular casino goers and leave through the front entrance using the app.

He was wrong. 

Sae looked down at him coldly. But it wasn’t the real Sae Nijima -that’s right, they told him this. It was her darkest desires, a Sae with no inhibitions. But he knew Sae...She was one of the people who he thought truly believed in him... He remembered he’d once trusted her enough to confess his home life to her. He told her about his absent father and his single mother and she’d simply rolled her eyes and told him not to let such a silly little thing get in the way of his future. That was the first time he’d ever shared that information with someone and she made him believe that maybe-

“Goro Akechi...” his false name sounding like acid on her tongue. 

Then, he suddenly thought about the last time they’d met, how she angrily accused him of stealing information off her laptop and he realized that yes, the woman in front of him was most definitely a part of Sae Nijima. 

She smirked down at him, monsters on both sides of her and ready to pounce. Something in him realized that he was going to die today. 

Embarrassingly enough, the first thing he thought of was his mom and how she would never know what happened to him. He thought of how she’d be waiting for her son to come home until her very last breath. He looked into Sae’s unnaturally yellow eyes and all he could think of was his mother’s hazel gaze and how he would never say goodbye and it made his heart felt like lead, heavy and broken and _poisonous_. 

It was his heart. His bleeding heart had done this to him. He just wanted to help people...He just wanted to stand up for what he believed in...He wanted to find the truth...His justice…

Sae’s gaze somehow got even colder and she sauntered towards him. The Sae in this world walked with the same confidence the real one did but with absolutely none of the modesty. This was a woman who knew her worth. He’d always admired that about her. She looked down at him and remarked

“...Tokyo’s champion of justice. But tell me. What _is_ your justice?”

His throat was stuck. Here it was, the million dollar question. What was his justice? He’d been so sure when he was younger...But now?

“I’m waiting, Akechi.” 

The monsters stepped forward and he could feel himself trembling against the tile. That damn name. He took a shallow, desperate breath. 

“I-I….I’m not sure.”

She laughed at him, tossing her head back and he could feel the tears running down his face but it didn’t matter, he didn’t care, he wanted to go home-

“Exactly. You act so high and mighty but you’re just like the rest of us. Your justice? It’s just your next paycheck.” 

And she was right. It'd been such a long time since he worked on a case just to help people. It was so stupid. Of course he worked to get a paycheck, that’s what every functioning adult was supposed to do. Each case brought the world's cruelty onto his door and lying about who had solved it broke him a bit more every time. He couldn’t even stand to look at himself in the mirror but it was fine because his Mom didn’t cry over the bills anymore and that alone made everything worth it. 

“Well, I hope you enjoy it. Because it might be your last.” 

The air rushed out of his lungs and he somehow managed to stutter out

“W-What do you mean?”

She shrugged so casually and his blood was boiling. This was his life, this job was the only thing he had left. He’d sacrificed his innocence, his dignity, his name, his self-worth... The promise that his internship would eventually turn into a career was the only reason he’d put up with three years of complete _shit_ in the first place...

“What’s the point of keeping a detective prince around when he’s all grown up? We all know you’re just going to be let go once the Phantom Thieves are arrested. And once you’re done being the department’s show pony, the public will just move on to the next fad and you’ll go back to being that bastard child nobody wants.”

She was right. 

Deep down, he’d always known he could never escape it.

His mother had tried, she tried so hard to raise him well. It wasn’t her fault, it was his, he never should have been born in the first place. He’d ruined her life and now he’d ruined his own. He was going to die here without ever having learned the truth, and it was going to be _long_ overdue. He sunk onto the floor, praying it’d be quick and painless. 

“Goro!” 

Sae looked up, past him and Goro slowly turned around to face whoever had yelled his name. 

“Kurusu...”

Akira had never called him by his first name before. But he just did, and now he was standing there with the rest of the phantom thieves, all of their weapons drawn. They were ready to fight her to save him. He’d been chasing them for months, he’d stalked them, he’d blackmailed them and he’d threatened to ruin their lives on more than one occasion. Yet there they were, ready to help him. 

He looked towards the prosecutor in front of him and for the first time in a long time his justice was clear. The truth was in his hands.

He felt like he’d topple over but he somehow managed to pick himself up and off the floor. He was trembling, but whether it was from relief or rage or exhaustion he couldn’t say. He spoke and he was shocked at the fact he was able to keep his voice steady even when he felt like he was falling apart. 

“You asked me about my justice Ms. Nijima...I know…I’m sorry for the delay but I think I can answer your question now.”

Except he couldn’t. 

Because his mind was suddenly blank and he fell to the floor again, collapsing onto his knees. It felt like a jackhammer had settled itself on top of his skull, his head throbbing with injustice and anger and so much _pain_ . It was hot and it had somehow come out of seemingly nowhere yet been there all along, stewing for _years_. While most of his mind was occupied with screaming his lungs out, a small part of him simply went, _oh, so I am going to die here after all._

**There you are, my little prince. I’ve been waiting for far too long.**

A booming _familiar_ voice added to the pain in his skull. He didn’t think it could get any worse, but it had and all he could do was close his eyes tight, thrashing around and hoping it would eventually stop. 

**You’ve averted your eyes for years. You did what you were told and simply ignored the injustice around you.**

The tiny portion of his brain that was still working realized he'd punched through the floor. His knuckles were bleeding and yet he couldn’t even feel them, the pain in his head overtaking it all. 

**But now you’ve seen it won’t go away. Not unless you do something about it. Will you give up?**

_No...He wanted to...He was_ **_going_ ** _to fight back._

**As you should. Let us form a contract then...I am thou, thou art I…**

The pain finally began to dissipate. He began to stand. 

**You have found me once more. Now it is time to take back from those who have taken everything from you!**

_I am my own justice._

_Come._ **_Robin Hood._ **

He wasn’t sure if he had said those words aloud but now he was standing upright and holding a red mask without being aware of it, so he could have. The pain was gone and replaced with this overwhelming feeling of fulfillment. He was surrounded by blue fire and behind him he could feel, _he knew,_ that Robin Hood was right there, ready to fight alongside him. This power…

“...In all honesty, I can’t be mad at you Sae. Abuse only survives because others join in. In the end, you’re just another example of the system working.” He couldn’t help but grin at her expression going from cold indifference to intense ferocity. It seemed he had struck a nerve “They caught you...And they'd almost caught me…” His heart was pounding, the steady beat of Robin Hood’s conviction pulsing through his bones and pushing his words forward. “The city’s elite have become corrupt in their complacency. It’s time to take this system apart one gear at a time. Starting with you!” 

Goro stepped forward and despite the fact that Sae looked ready to kill him, he couldn’t stop the laughter bubbling up his throat and out of his mouth. He felt _amazing_. 

He gestured towards her and Robin Hood followed suit, pulling back the string of his bow and firing an arrow made of light directly into one of her bodyguards. 

He stepped forward, ready to take them down when he felt a hand grip his shoulder. He looked back into grey eyes and a smile like Goro had never seen before. It wasn’t one of Akira's playful half-smiles or sarcastic smirks. It was a real genuine smile, full of pride and determination. 

“Let’s see what you’re made of.”

Then he was dragged out of his story by sniffling. 

His mother was _crying_. 

Haya had known something was wrong. She’d known for so many years, but she couldn’t have even begun to imagine how bad the situation had gotten. 

She’d made herself a promise when she was younger. It was one she had just broken. 

She remembered coming home from a late shift one night, mail in hand. It was midnight but tomorrow was the first of the month and she knew bills were due. She’d sat down at the kitchen table and just stared at the envelopes in front of her. She knew what’d be waiting inside of them. Just more bills she could barely pay. 

And she just felt so exhausted. A patient had died that day on her watch and they’d assured her it wasn’t her fault but she still felt so _useless_. No matter what she did she was useless. She didn’t even realize she’d been crying until her tears splashed onto the bills in front of her. 

_“Mom?”_

And as if the situation couldn't get any worse, there was her little son in the doorway. He was 6 or 7 years old back then and she remembered how he was dressed in one of her old shirts because she couldn’t really afford proper pajamas. She’d turned away from him, desperate to hide. Still, his face that day had been burned into her mind. 

She couldn’t cry in front of him. She didn’t want him to worry about her. 

She especially didn’t want him to give her the same expression he was giving her _right now_. 

She hid her face in her hands _-as if that would help-_ and she just wished she could have given Goro what he _needed_. She didn't even know what it was. But she hadn’t been able to do it alone. All those years ago she knew she’d be his downfall and now it looked like she’d been right. 

“Mom. I’m okay. I promise,” his voice was still a bit shaky from exhaustion but he sounded sincere. 

Meanwhile, she herself made a noise that sounded like a mixture of a hiccup and a sob, still unable to bring herself to look at him. 

“Goro…” her voice was muffled, still hiding behind her hands. “You’ve been suffering...all these years….I didn’t know. I should have known, but _I didn’t-_ ” 

She found herself suddenly cut off by the surprise of her son embracing her from behind. He rested his chin on the back of her head and wrapped his arms around her shoulders. 

“I know. It’s not your fault mom.” 

She finally found the strength to pull her hands away from her face. She knew Goro was behind her now but it was still amusing to suddenly see Spring Roll sitting in the chair across from her. She awkwardly chortled and she grabbed onto one of his hands which was resting on her shoulder. 

“You’re so strong. I’m proud of you,” and she felt him gently squeeze her shoulders. “B-But you need to tell me about these things Goro Akemi! If you don’t, I can’t help you! That's what I'm here for so...You need to trust me...” 

She suddenly clenched her fist and banged it on the table, scaring Spring Roll and sending him skittering off the chair and into the living room. 

“I’m going to **kill** that entire _god damned_ police force!”

Goro snorted and chuckled awkwardly into her hair, squeezing her hand gently. 

“Don’t worry Mom. We’ve got a better idea.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> woooooOOOO GORO'S AWAKENING!
> 
> And a bit of his perspective as well! Hope the transitions weren't too confusing, but I went a bit more experimental with this chapter than I usually do. 
> 
> Let me know what you guys think and if you're up for more!
> 
> P.S: I sketched a quick cover for this fic! Find it here: https://nat-der-kunstler.tumblr.com/post/186618555471/ayeeeee-i-drew-a-cover-for-my-fic-mommas-boy


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